Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date it entered into detailed discussions with South Lanarkshire Council and the Home Office on educational provision by day release for children held for longer than six weeks at Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre.

Peter Peacock: Scottish ministers meet regularly with Home Office ministers and have discussed matters relating to Dungavel, including the provision of education. Since the publication of the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Education reports, discussions have focused on how their recommendations can be taken forward, particularly in relation to children who may exceptionally be in Dungavel for more than six weeks. Discussions between the Scottish Executive and South Lanarkshire Council have focused on the support offered by the council to the contractors at Dungavel.

Care Commission

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals were offered severance payment, or given the option to work for the Care Commission, when it was set up; what percentage of these accepted severance payments, and what the total cost to the Executive and local authorities was of such payments.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the Care Commission's staff have accepted severance since it was set up; how many of these had served with the Commission for (a) six months or less (b) six to 12 months and (c) longer than 12 months, and what the total cost of such severance payments was to the Executive.

Mr Tom McCabe: In January 2002, the Scottish Executive offered a severance payment or continued employment with the Care Commission to all employees of local authority and health board registration and inspection units (R&I) who met the following criteria:

  1. Any employee who spent 50% or more of their time on registration and inspection duties.

  2. Any employee on a temporary contract or secondment to an R&I unit, even if their contract or secondment expired on 31 March 2002, provided they spent 50% or more of their time on R&I duties.

  3. Any employee on secondment from an R&I unit, provided they were spending 50% or more of their time on R&I duties before their secondment.

  4. Any employee who fell below the 50% criteria before 1 April 2002 as a result of being transferred to other duties, provided they spent 50% or more of their time on R&I duties on or after 31 March 2000.

  No staff who joined the commission, as distinct from being transferred into it, were eligible for the severance scheme.

  The offer of a severance payment for those who chose not to transfer to or remain with the Care Commission was open until 30 September 2002. Severance payments consisted of a one-off lump sum calculated on the basis of the number of years completed service and annual salary.

  Four hundred and forty-one local authority and health board staff fell within the criteria above. Twenty-two of them took up the offer of severance before the commission became operational on 1 April 2002. The remaining 419 werelisted in the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (Staff Transfer Scheme) Order 2002 as transferring to the commission. Three of these staff subsequently took up the severance offer before transferring, and 17 remained with their local authority or health board. Three hundred and ninety-nine staff transferred to the commission. One hundred and twenty of those staff took up the offer between 1 April 2002 and the cut-off date of 30 September 2002. By definition, all of those 120 staff had served with the commission itself for six months or less, although they of course had previous service with their local authority or health board. In total, 145 of the 441 eligible staff (33%) took up the offer of severance.

  The cost to the Executive of severance payments was £3.5 million.

Climate Change

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has estimated how much the impact of climate change will cost the Scottish economy.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has made no estimates of the impact of climate change on the Scottish economy. The Executive does, however, work in partnership with the UK Government to increase awareness and understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change. Arising from this collaboration, the UK Climate Impacts Programme is developing a tool to assist businesses and others to assess the costs of adaptation options. This tool is expected to be published early next year.

  Also, the UK Government commissioned a research study in 2000 into the cost of adapting to climate change in key sectors such as water resources and flooding. A summary of the study report produced by Environmental Resources Management Ltd can be found on the Executive's climate change website at www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange.

Council Tax

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in designing a new council tax banding system that more closely reflects house valuations.

Tavish Scott: We are committed to an independent review of local government finance. We are discussing the timing, remit and format of the review with COSLA.

Courts

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2498 by Cathy Jamieson on 23 September 2003, whether the outline agreement on sheriff court provision in Peebles includes the provision of a sheriff clerk’s office.

Cathy Jamieson: The outline agreement between officials of the Scottish Court Service and the Scottish Borders Council relating to the use of the council building at Rosetta Road, Peebles, for court hearings does not include the provision of a public office for the Sheriff Clerk Depute. However, in tandem with the discussions on the use of the building for hearings, officials of both organisations are involved in detailed discussion on a partnership agreement which would see much of the public office services of the sheriff court being delivered through the district court office at Rosetta Road.

Courts

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it is having with Scottish Borders Council and the Scottish Court Service with a view to reaching agreement on the retention of sheriff court services in Peebles.

Cathy Jamieson: Discussions involving officials of the Scottish Court Service and the Scottish Borders Council have resulted in an outline agreement which would see the return of court hearings to Peebles, using the council building at Rosetta Road. In tandem with the discussions on the use of the building for court hearings, officials of both organisations are involved in detailed discussion on a partnership agreement which would see much of the public office services of the sheriff court being delivered through the district court office at Rosetta Road. The Scottish Executive has been kept informed of the progress of these discussions and fully supports this initiative.

Dentistry

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients are registered to receive NHS general dental care in each NHS board area, broken down by age group.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  Number of Patients Registered with an NHS General Dental Practitioner; 30 June 2003

  

 NHS Board Area
 Patient Age 
  Group


 0-2
 3-5
 6-12
 13-17
 18-24
 25-34
 35-44
 45-54
 55-64
 65-74
 75+
 Total


 Ayrshire and Arran
 4,628
 8,305
 24,323
 17,539
 17,497
 25,620
 33,307
 28,149
 23,227
 15,388
 9,218
 207,201


 Borders
 1,047
 2,260
 6,418
 4,710
 4,291
 6,883
 10,365
 8,931
 8,042
 5,918
 3,712
 62,577


 Argyll and Clyde
 4,382
 9,173
 27,139
 18,961
 18,856
 28,416
 38,100
 29,693
 23,093
 15,311
 8,477
 221,601


 Fife
 3,982
 7,932
 22,141
 15,366
 15,752
 24,267
 32,713
 26,646
 20,964
 12,784
 7,691
 190,238


 Greater Glasgow
 10,939
 21,131
 59,958
 38,902
 43,724
 73,023
 87,238
 62,541
 43,584
 30,105
 18,636
 489,781


 Highland
 1,991
 4,563
 13,174
 9,047
 6,883
 8,443
 12,207
 10,320
 8,260
 5,533
 2,971
 83,392


 Lanarkshire
 5,157
 12,390
 35,280
 22,881
 24,560
 39,478
 48,891
 36,133
 26,279
 16,431
 8,292
 275,772


 Grampian
 4,370
 11,142
 31,908
 21,551
 21,490
 32,036
 40,847
 34,314
 23,267
 13,131
 6,420
 240,476


 Orkney
 24
 148
 545
 214
 346
 777
 1,207
 1,083
 732
 420
 189
 5,685


 Lothian
 9,823
 19,239
 52,382
 32,803
 35,108
 63,904
 75,579
 55,774
 41,130
 26,860
 15,215
 427,817


 Tayside
 4,154
 9,474
 27,582
 18,158
 18,255
 28,259
 38,005
 31,998
 25,993
 17,872
 10,384
 230,134


 Forth Valley
 3,314
 7,080
 19,896
 12,478
 13,328
 19,970
 25,928
 20,083
 15,053
 9,109
 4,838
 151,077


 Western Isles
 139
 314
 712
 545
 850
 1,578
 2,098
 1,907
 1,541
 1,068
 553
 11,305


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1,124
 3,084
 9,231
 6,360
 5,225
 7,565
 10,645
 8,909
 8,071
 5,578
 3,451
 69,243


 Shetland
 293
 504
 966
 567
 610
 1,459
 1,942
 1,741
 1,200
 512
 259
 10,053


 Scotland
 55,367
 116,739
 331,655
 220,082
 226,775
 361,678
 459,072
 358,222
 270,436
 176,020
 100,306
 2,676,352



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

Employment

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to encourage young people and the long-term unemployed to enter retraining opportunities as a means of combating the skills shortage.

Lewis Macdonald: Careers Scotland provides a range of impartial information, advice and guidance on employment and training opportunities to help people of all ages enter and re-enter the labour market. Advice reflects the labour market information provided on skills shortages by Future Skills Scotland.

  The UK Government’s Welfare to Work programmes offer help to unemployed people to move into or return to sustained employment. These include New Deal for Young People, New Deal for the Long Term Unemployed and New Deal 50 plus.

  In addition, the Training for Work programme provides a wide range of retraining opportunities designed to help long-term unemployed people secure work.

Enterprise

Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what market analysis has been undertaken of potential opportunities for Scottish business in the 10 accession states to the EU, particularly the three Baltic states and Poland, and what trade missions to those countries are planned over the next 12 months.

Lewis Macdonald: Scottish Enterprise published a context paper in August 2003 entitled Opportunities and Challenges of EU enlargement , which is available at www.scottish-enterprise.com/euenlargement . A wide range of information is also available from a number of other sources including the Euro Info Centres, Scottish Development International (SDI) and the Business Gateway International Trade

  The Scottish Exhibition and Mission programme, produced by SDI, provides information on all the exhibitions and missions organised by the export support network throughout Scotland. It can be accessed at www.scottish-enterprise.com. At present information is available on events up to the end of March 2004 which include the outward missions listed below to accession states.

  

 Date
 Location
 Sector
 Organiser


 2-6 November 03
 Poland
 New Technologies/ Service and Consumer
 Business Gateway International Trade Ayrshire, Forth 
  Valley, Lothian and Renfrewshire


 February 2004
 Slovenia
 Multi
 Business Gateway International Trade Lanarkshire,
Glasgow Exports Ltd


 February/March 2004
 Poland
 Environment
 Business Gateway International Trade Lothian

Fuel Costs

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address fuel costs in rural areas.

Tavish Scott: The Executive acknowledges that the high cost of petrol and diesel fuel in rural areas is of considerable concern to many people. Fuel duty and how it is levied is a matter for the UK Government. However, since 1999 the Executive has provided more than £32 million through its Rural Transport Fund to improve travel options for people in rural areas on projects such as new bus services and modernising petrol stations.

General Agreement on Trade in Services

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the proposals contained in the United States of America’s communication to the Council for Trade in Services would have on Scottish tertiary education services should the proposals in regard to market areas and no limitations be applied to all General Agreement on Trade in Services signatory nations that permit private education.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) has lead responsibility for all matters related to the General Agreement on Trade in Services on behalf of the UK, as the regulation of international trade is a reserved area. The DTI have confirmed that as the UK has already taken full commitments in relation to privately funded education services during the Uruguay round, the negotiating proposals contained in the United States of America’s communication to the Council for Trade in Services should have no impact on tertiary education services in Scotland. The EC has not and does not intend to make any offer in the area of public sector education services.

General Agreement on Trade in Services

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2266 by Mr Jim Wallace on 24 September 2003, what its position is on the statement by the European Commission Directorate-General for Education and Culture, as expressed in Trends and Learning Structures in European Higher Education III that "Higher education was already included in the 1994 round of GATS negotiations but has assumed a much more prominent and highly disputed position in the current round", in light of the Executive’s statement that "the EC has not and does not intend to make any offer in the area of public sector education services".

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the possible impacts of the General Agreement on Trade in Services on education systems from a legal and practical perspective, in light of the conclusions of the Bologna follow-up seminar "Exploring the Social Dimensions of the European Higher Education Area" that such impacts should be assessed in each country.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) has lead responsibility for all matters related to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on behalf of the UK, as the regulation of international trade is a reserved area. The DTI are in regular contact with colleagues within the devolved administrations on matters related to education as policy responsibility in that area is fully devolved. The UK has already taken GATS commitments in relation to private sector education services during the Uruguay round of negotiations. Those commitments do not apply to publicly funded education. The EC has not and does not intend to make any offer in the area of public sector education services. That position has been confirmed in a news release of 5 February 2003. A copy of the news release is available for reference at:

  http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/186|0|AGED&lg=EN&display=.

Genetically Modified Crops

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding reports before the results of the field-scale evaluations are known of the department’s possible approval for commercial GM crops.

Allan Wilson: Ministers and officials are in regular discussions with Defra on a range of issues.

  Despite media reports, I reiterate the Executive’s position that no decisions will be taken on the possible commercialisation of GM crops, until we have had the opportunity to evaluate the outcomes of the GM dialogue and the farm-scale evaluations.

Health

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the effect of toxic chemicals on public health.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive maintains a consistent policy that all risks to the public health should be properly controlled. The diverse range of health risks posed by toxic chemicals demands a range of control measures. These include legislation to minimise public exposure through food, water and environmental sources, support for NHS boards and the emergency services in responding to incidents involving chemical exposures, and receiving and commissioning advice from relevant expert bodies

Health

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will initiate a public inquiry into contaminated blood products in the NHS and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Malcolm Chisholm: We do not intend to initiate an inquiry. The available evidence does not suggest that those involved at the time acted wrongly in the light of the facts that were available to them.

  We have indicated that we are willing to consider any new evidence which emerged.

Justice

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what specialist assistance is available for victims of miscarriages of justice and whether such support extends to relatives of those found to have been wrongly convicted.

Cathy Jamieson: Under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, ex-prisoners including those released following an appeal against conviction and, or sentence, may voluntarily request assistance from their local authority within 12 months of their release from prison. Under these provisions, local authorities provide and facilitate a range of supportive services to help prisoners and their families with resettlement.

  The relatives may also contact Families Outside to seek assistance. Families Outside is a Scottish charity which offers support to families affected by imprisonment regardless of the circumstances that resulted in custody.

Justice

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any analysis of the effects that miscarriages of justice have on those wrongfully convicted.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has not made any analysis of the effects that miscarriages of justice have on those wrongfully convicted.

Justice

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been released from prison following wrongful imprisonment in each of the last 10 years.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not collected by the Scottish Executive.

Justice

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures of redress a wrongfully-convicted person has following a successful court appeal.

Cathy Jamieson: Compensation is not generally payable where persons have been acquitted at trial or subsequently on appeal within time simply because the prosecution was unable to sustain the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt in relation to the specific charge that was brought.

  Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that Scottish ministers are required to pay compensation where a person has been convicted of a criminal offence and his conviction has subsequently been reversed or he has been pardoned, on the ground that a new, or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriage of justice (provided that the non-disclosure of the new evidence was not attributable to the applicant). Further, ex gratia payment may be made in certain circumstances to persons who have been held in custody following a wrongful conviction or charge where this has resulted from serious default on the part of a member of a police force or some other public authority and in exceptional circumstances in cases outside these categories.

Justice

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether victims of miscarriages of justice receive an official apology following their release from prison.

Cathy Jamieson: The ground for appeal against conviction and/or sentence in Scotland is that there has been a miscarriage of justice. It is not the practice to apologise to those who have successfully appealed.

Justice

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether wrongfully-convicted persons and their families would be entitled to any compensatory payment following release from prison.

Cathy Jamieson: Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that compensation shall be paid in cases where a conviction has been reversed on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriage of justice. The payment will be paid to the person who has suffered punishment as a result of such conviction, or, if he is dead, to his personal representatives, unless non-disclosure of the unknown fact was wholly or partly attributable to the person convicted.

  In addition, ministers may be prepared to make an ex gratia payment of compensation following a wrongful conviction or charge where this has resulted from serious default on the part of a member of a police force or some other public authority. There may also be exceptional circumstances that justify compensation in cases outside these categories.

Maternity Services

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many newborn babies are nursed, on average, in intensive care neonatal units each year, how long the average length of stay is in such units and how much it costs per day to treat a baby in such units.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows the number of babies discharged from neonatal units in Scotland, the average length of stay and the average cost per day to treat a baby in such a unit.

  Discharges1, Average Length of Stay2 and Expenditure3,4 in SCBU: 1996-97 to 2001-02

  

 Year
 Discharges
 Average Stay (Days)
 Cost Per Occupied Bed (£)


 1996-97
 8,752
 9.5
 381


 1997-98
 8,345
 10.2
 414


 1998-99
 8,186
 9.7
 419


 1999-2000
 8,193
 9.9
 437


 2000-01
 7,753
 10.2
 451


 2001-02
 7,051
 9.8
 474



  Source: SMR11 and Scottish Health Service Costs.

  Notes:

  1. Babies discharged from neonatal units.

  2. Total length of stay divided by the number of babies discharged from neonatal units.

  3. Inflation has not been taken into account.

  4. Costs are net of Income Other but include income from the Additional Cost of Teaching (ACT).

Planning

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2140 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 19 September 2003, whether City of Edinburgh and Midlothian councils would be required to publish the reasons for rejecting the options of redevelopment of the existing ground, development within urban areas or development on vacant, derelict or underused land before approving the adjustment of greenbelt boundaries to allow construction of a new stadium.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: As noted in Scottish Development Department Circular 24-1985 : Development in the Countryside and Greenbelts , local plans should define the precise boundaries of any green belt within the area covered by the plan. Any review of green belt boundaries is taken through the local plan process where options will require to be fully justified and open to public consultation. Objectors to a local plan have a right to have their concerns explored at a public local inquiry.

Planning

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the question S2W-2110 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 16 September 2003, what material considerations, other than Executive planning policies, may be taken into account by councils in reaching planning decisions that are not in accordance with the development plan.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Examples of possible material considerations can be found in paragraph 51 of Scottish Planning Policy 1: The Planning System, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 25316).

Prison Service

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the comparative pay and conditions of staff employed at HM Prison Kilmarnock and at publicly-owned prisons.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS does not hold information on the pay and conditions of staff employed at HMP Kilmarnock. This is a matter for Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited.

Public Sector

Mrs Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when an announcement will be made about relocation of VisitScotland’s headquarters from Edinburgh.

Mr Frank McAveety: An announcement on this matter is planned for December 2003. All of the short-listed options, including the Edinburgh option, will be subject to a detailed option appraisal prior to a decision on this matter being reached.

Rail Network

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which ScotRail routes would have passed the business case test to be applied to the proposed Waverley railway line.

Nicol Stephen: In most cases investment in the ScotRail routes was made many decades ago. It is not possible to determine how such investments would perform under current appraisal techniques. All new proposals for rail investment in Scotland are appraised under the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance.

Renewable Energy

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to revise planning guidance available to local authorities in relation to wind farms.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: National Planning Policy Guideline 6: Renewable Energy Technologies balances our obligation to tackle climate change with the need to safeguard communities and the environment. Like all national planning policies this is kept under review.

Road Safety

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to enable pupils to walk or cycle safely to school.

Tavish Scott: The Executive is enabling more pupils to walk and cycle to school by providing guidance to local authorities and financial support, through safer routes to schools and 20 mph zone funding.

Scottish Agricultural College

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met staff representatives from the Scottish Agricultural College’s (SAC) Craibstone Campus and what issues were discussed.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has not met staff representatives from SAC’s Craibstone Campus.

Sexual Offences

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is planned to combat drug-assisted rape.

Hugh Henry: The Executive is considering this issue as a matter of priority under its Know the Score campaign, and will be producing materials which highlight the risks of drug-assisted rape in the lead up to Christmas. Details will be announced in due course. In addition, information and advice on how to recognise the risks and signs of drug-assisted rape will be included in forthcoming parents’ guides to talking about drugs and alcohol.

  Following up the guidance issued to police forces in October 2002 by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), ACPOS is presently examining the possible use of forensic sampling kits specifically designed and developed for use in the investigation of drug-assisted assault. Additionally, police forces throughout Scotland are engaged in developing their own local initiatives, aimed at providing advice and guidance to the public on drug-assisted sexual assault.

Telecommunications

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to use the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health for monitoring terrestrial trunked radio masts throughout Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Radiocommunications Agency, an Executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, is undertaking a programme of measurements of emissions from mobile phone base stations throughout the UK to assess compliance with relevant exposure guidelines. This programme has recently been extended to TETRA installations and will include TETRA base stations in Scotland. There are no current plans to involve the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health in this process.

Transport

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to improve transport infrastructure in Midlothian.

Tavish Scott: We are working in partnership with Midlothian Council on a number of important transport projects. The Scottish Executive has provided financial support for the Edinburgh to Penicuik Multi-Modal Study which is expected to report later this year.